Published on 19/03/2024
The move by Parliament’s Committee of Rules, Discipline and Privileges to extend its probe into allegations of misconduct against Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake has been protested by his lawyer, Elias Lukwago, who says that such decisions are affecting pre-set schedules elsewhere.
Lukwago, on top of being the Lord Mayor of Kampala, actively represents several clients in Courts of law, and he thinks there could be a lot of adjournments to some of the cases the more the probe in parliament is prolonged.
The Committee chaired by Bugweri County MP Abdu Katuntu has been probing Zaake over allegations of using derogatory words against fellow lawmaker Juliet Kinyamatama, Rakai District Woman MP in March 2023. Zaake’s team was shocked to hear the pronouncement by Katuntu of another adjournment to continue the probe.
We thought the matter would be concluded today; Kinyamatama isn’t here; yesterday she didn’t turn up, and she has a duty, much as she has already given her testimony, to mobilise the witnesses she isn’t here to give a full account as to why the rest of the witnesses aren’t here. The adjournment the Committee is about to make is injudicious, it may prejudice us the defence in that we prepared to have this matter concluded today. Unfortunately, the whole of next week, because of the schedules that Parliament made, I had to be here the whole of this week, I had to reschedule on the premise that let us have the matter handled this week, now, pushing it to next week is prejudicing us again, said Lukwago.
However, Katuntu rejected the argument by Lukwago to push the blame of the prolonged probe solely on the Committee pointing out a scenario when Lukwago walked out on his client in the middle of cross-examining Kinyamata. At the time, Katuntu said, Zaake requested for two weeks to look for another lawyer, only to return with the same lawyer, Lukwago.
The reason why the matter has gone on a little bit unnecessarily, you know. All the witnesses in these proceedings are our witnesses, they aren’t your witnesses because this is an inquiry that is why we suggest that if you have a witness, please let us know, and we summon them. I have also looked at the Rules, there is no Rule that requires Kinyamatama to be here all the time, there is none. So, whether she is here or not, for us, we shall proceed, and we have no apology because she can’t come here, except if she has been summoned, noted Katuntu.
Lukwago also wondered why Katuntu had initially unequivocally stated that the timelines for the probe were very strict and that the case would be concluded by 14th March 2014, only to renege on his promise.
Why change goals? It is the reason we are saying we are really flabbergasted; we have our other business to do, and we have to make adjustments to our own schedules. We have been made to come to Parliament, and Kinyamatama, who is the complainant, incessantly hasn’t shown up without any reason being advanced yet she is duty-bound as the complainant to mobilise these witnesses. The witnesses that they listed haven’t turned up; it is just one or two that they are picking who are inconsequential and are of no relevance whatsoever, charged Lukwago.
In response, Katuntu said that as long as timelines have been set by the Committee, they aren’t cast in stone, and there should be room for adjustments.
About the timelines we set, yes, they are strict, but they aren’t cast in stone. Because if there is evidence, we know we haven’t heard, we will accommodate it including Zaake if there is any reason, he feels he needs an adjournment, he can always apply and we shall get him that opportunity, he ruled.
During the weeklong investigations, Lukwago also faulted language experts at Makerere University for doing shoddy work after the University retracted an earlier document of the transcription made from a video submitted to Parliament by Kinyamatama accusing Zaake of using derogatory words to insult her.
During the cross-examination, Dr Medadi Ssentanda, Senior Lecturer in the Department of African Languages at Makerere University, admitted that he made a mistake during translation when the earlier document captured words of selling her body instead of selling herself, which insinuated prostitution on the part of Kinyamatama. He attributed the mistake to the limited time the University was required to produce the transcription.
His admission prompted Elias Lukwago to ask him to clearly explain the mistake he made during translation, to which he replied by saying the names in the translation were mixed.
Do you concede that you made a mistake saying she is always at Parliament as if selling her body, which you changed to say as if she is selling herself? You are in charge of quality assurance, and you made that mistake? Where did you get that name Kinyamatama in the text, yet the name (mentioned) is Kyamatama?
However, Ssentanda said the University was under a tight deadline to produce a translated copy.
There are incidences when our institutions seem to express their requests which we are supposed to work on as express. We received that around 6 pm and we had to come up with translation and transcription the following day at 9am. We had two hours to translate, yes it is possible that there could be that which we could have corrected, Dr Ssentanda added.
Katuntu, asked the officials from Makerere University to ensure that enough time is given to documents submitted to the University for translation in order to protect the integrity and reputation of the institution.
It doesn’t matter whether it is Parliament or any other institution trying to seek some translation from you, so any government institution or even private institution, when they have submitted their document, take off your time. We don’t want to hear about an institution with PhDs or doctors. That doesn’t ogre well to some of us who hold the institution, Katuntu guided.
